Audi R8 Content
Discussion
Hi,
Its been a while since I started a topic in this section, but I thought I would share my latest acquisition. Somewhat inspired by the recent PH buyers guide on the R8 I decided to take action and purchase a car I have had my sight on since the launch at the Paris Motor show in 2006, buoyed by the fact the market for this was static if not appreciating (maybe) I started looking just before Xmas.
I am a Porsche fan driven by my dad's love of the cars and indoctrinated from an early age, in fact I got out of a GenII Boxster to buy this, My next car could have been a 911 but the R8 was always seen as an alternative just not so much a common sight on the roads. The more I read about the car the more I found myself wanting one. Built at the Necharsulm plant in Germany production numbers were initially very low due to Audi's desire to ensure high quality and the fact we were in a global recession from 2008, in fact from 2006-2012 (Generation 1 period) Audi only produced approximately 20k cars.
There is a great video on Youtube( Link) and a MegaFactories documentary that takes you through the production process. The car is essentially hand assembled and even parts of the sub-frame are hand welded, only the most experienced Audi technicians are allowed to work on the R8 line.
So what about buying one?
I saw a number of cars of varying quality, as always the old adage is buy on condition. These cars are getting into the sort of money (<£50k) where you find badly cared for interior/exterior and patchy service history. I was looking for a good spec manual car with provenance, mileage was not as important. I tracked mine down to a trader who specializes in prestige/sports cars, I know from the stock and presentation on the website that he cared about what he had on the books. A 2hr drive and a pleasant sunny day rewarded me with a car that was exactly as described
(I like it when that happens). An anxious wait over Xmas and I picked it up before the New Year.
Here are some pics
Got to love that manual gate
Now there was 1 thing on my list that needed to be done asap...fit an Aftermarket exhaust. Its something I wanted to do on the B7 RS4 I had a few years back but never got round to it. I did some research, rang a round a few places and decided on a non-resonated Milltek from AMD. It went in the week after I bought it.
The existing exhaust is massive and heavy, I decided to retain it for a future owner if so desired (which took some logistical shenanigans). AMD Technik in Essex were a really good outfit and did the job in a day. You can see by the state of the rear end how much work is involved in an exhaust swap.
And on goes the new Milltek
Now I need to make time to enjoy it. I have a few shows planned for this year and a Scotland and Euro hoon I am really looking forward to. So far the ownership experience has been great, I was lucky there is not much to do to the car mechanically having recently undergone a full service and new brakes by Audi. Always a concern of carbon build up on the intake but this one seems pretty sprightly to me so I guess all 420 ponies are in check. The car steers and drives just how it should, it feels special on every drive and as much as I hate to admit it I could not say that about the Boxster. It attracts a fair amount of attention also, but I guess that is down to the rarity on the roads, thankfully only positive attention so far.
If your thinking about pulling the trigger....just go for it!
Its been a while since I started a topic in this section, but I thought I would share my latest acquisition. Somewhat inspired by the recent PH buyers guide on the R8 I decided to take action and purchase a car I have had my sight on since the launch at the Paris Motor show in 2006, buoyed by the fact the market for this was static if not appreciating (maybe) I started looking just before Xmas.
I am a Porsche fan driven by my dad's love of the cars and indoctrinated from an early age, in fact I got out of a GenII Boxster to buy this, My next car could have been a 911 but the R8 was always seen as an alternative just not so much a common sight on the roads. The more I read about the car the more I found myself wanting one. Built at the Necharsulm plant in Germany production numbers were initially very low due to Audi's desire to ensure high quality and the fact we were in a global recession from 2008, in fact from 2006-2012 (Generation 1 period) Audi only produced approximately 20k cars.
There is a great video on Youtube( Link) and a MegaFactories documentary that takes you through the production process. The car is essentially hand assembled and even parts of the sub-frame are hand welded, only the most experienced Audi technicians are allowed to work on the R8 line.
So what about buying one?
I saw a number of cars of varying quality, as always the old adage is buy on condition. These cars are getting into the sort of money (<£50k) where you find badly cared for interior/exterior and patchy service history. I was looking for a good spec manual car with provenance, mileage was not as important. I tracked mine down to a trader who specializes in prestige/sports cars, I know from the stock and presentation on the website that he cared about what he had on the books. A 2hr drive and a pleasant sunny day rewarded me with a car that was exactly as described
(I like it when that happens). An anxious wait over Xmas and I picked it up before the New Year.Here are some pics
Got to love that manual gate
Now there was 1 thing on my list that needed to be done asap...fit an Aftermarket exhaust. Its something I wanted to do on the B7 RS4 I had a few years back but never got round to it. I did some research, rang a round a few places and decided on a non-resonated Milltek from AMD. It went in the week after I bought it.
The existing exhaust is massive and heavy, I decided to retain it for a future owner if so desired (which took some logistical shenanigans). AMD Technik in Essex were a really good outfit and did the job in a day. You can see by the state of the rear end how much work is involved in an exhaust swap.
And on goes the new Milltek
Now I need to make time to enjoy it. I have a few shows planned for this year and a Scotland and Euro hoon I am really looking forward to. So far the ownership experience has been great, I was lucky there is not much to do to the car mechanically having recently undergone a full service and new brakes by Audi. Always a concern of carbon build up on the intake but this one seems pretty sprightly to me so I guess all 420 ponies are in check. The car steers and drives just how it should, it feels special on every drive and as much as I hate to admit it I could not say that about the Boxster. It attracts a fair amount of attention also, but I guess that is down to the rarity on the roads, thankfully only positive attention so far.
If your thinking about pulling the trigger....just go for it!
Edited by jdwoodbury on Friday 13th January 17:57
Edited by jdwoodbury on Saturday 14th January 07:04
Really, really nice, I like the silver too, blends in rather nicely (my Vantage is silver as well).
That manual gate is a work of art, I hope it makes a satisfactory 'clunk' as you change gear.
Do enjoy your Euro trip, I am thinking the furthest mine will go this year is the Evo triangle / N Wales coast!
That manual gate is a work of art, I hope it makes a satisfactory 'clunk' as you change gear.
Do enjoy your Euro trip, I am thinking the furthest mine will go this year is the Evo triangle / N Wales coast!
t with the R8. TedLeveTT said:
Really enjoyed that post OP. Lovely car you have there, silver on silver, very nice colour not only now but going into the future as well. Congratulations! How does the new exhaust sound? I don't know much about them, but why not the armytrix exhaust?
The exhaust is just right for me, you know it's there but it's not obnoxious when you don't want it to be. At low rpm it has a muscle car burble and then transitions into Nascar when the revs pile on, over 4k it really does make a magnificent noise. I looked at others and tried to get an impression on YouTube (you never really here the proper sound), on recommendation I went with Milltek and it was a fair bit cheaper than some of the other alternatives. 
I've liked the R8 since they came out and was lucky enough to have a drive in a manual one a few years ago. The rig manager was one of the first to get one (having paid a premium over list) and I was passing where he lived on a bike trip. He took me for a spin then asked if I wanted a shot!
It's one of the few cars that was better than I had built it up to be in my mind. The steering feel was something else again and it had ample power.
You've solved the only thing I wasn't sure about with the exhaust upgrade.
I've driven a Cayman S as well as other high performance cars but the first drive in the R8 will always stand out.
It's one of the few cars that was better than I had built it up to be in my mind. The steering feel was something else again and it had ample power.
You've solved the only thing I wasn't sure about with the exhaust upgrade.
I've driven a Cayman S as well as other high performance cars but the first drive in the R8 will always stand out.
jdwoodbury said:
The exhaust is just right for me, you know it's there but it's not obnoxious when you don't want it to be. At low rpm it has a muscle car burble and then transitions into Nascar when the revs pile on, over 4k it really does make a magnificent noise. I looked at others and tried to get an impression on YouTube (you never really here the proper sound), on recommendation I went with Milltek and it was a fair bit cheaper than some of the other alternatives.
Well as long as you're happy with it, which I can see you are. By the way you describe the exhaust it sounds like the perfect balance. I was just wondering why you chose miltek. The armytrix exhaust has a couple gimics such as a remote to open and close the valves, an iPhone app ect, all things that will never be used. You need to keep this car, especially with the launch spec it will be very collectable in the future.
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